Muscle Car Storage Lot - Junkyard Builder

As junkyard scroungers, we’ve all heard tales of abandoned muscle car gold, but most of the time, the story unwinds the closer you get to the car. You know the drill. A guy says he knows where there’s a ’71 GTO Judge convertible sitting under a pine tree. He tells you, “Oh yeah, it has the split front bumper, a 455 with dual exhaust, and everything.” You take the bait and get directions on where to find it. After a six-hour drive, it turns out to be a rusty Bonneville and you head for home dejected. But just as often, these leads can turn out to be rock solid.

2/11Is this really a ’70 Hemi ’Cuda? Yep, the VIN reads BS23R0B187998, and the R in the fifth position confirms factory-installed 426 Hemi status. One of 652 ’70 Hemi ’Cuda hardtops built (and one of 284 with a four-speed transmission), it was originally ordered in Deep Burnt Orange Metallic—instead of a more typical high-impact hue like Sassy Grass or Tor-Red. Apparently a stripe-delete car, this sleeper must have lured plenty of street action.

This was the case recently when a friend invited us to view this muscle car treasure trove in a California self-storage lot. Our nameless friend rents a space in the storage lot and says these cars have been sitting just as we see them here for more than 20 years. Since he’s a muscle car collector, he’s already been through the process of contacting the owner of these cars to see if anything is for sale. It turns out, the owner is fully aware of exactly what he’s got and no, nothing is for sale. Keep in mind, these cars are all kept under lock and key, and while they may look vulnerable, security cameras, nasty guard dogs, and other methods are in place to keep them from harm. But we can look.